Dragon Age 2 all the way. Two-handed warriors were slow and boring, mages were bland, it felt like with each attack you had to roll a D20 and calculated damage. Rogues were fine in both at least.
Poll: DA:O... why is this better than DA2 again?
- Thread starter MetallicaRulez0
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The tactics system actually has a precursor. The old Infinity Engine games allowed you to manage your party AI. Of course, the level of depth wasn't quite there as it allowed only fairly general things like "Attack anyone who attacks defense target" and "cast spells of low level before high level".Mr Thin said:
I guess it would feel weird to play DA2 then DA:O. I think playing Origins first is a good way to feel the smoothness of the game, even if it's a bit slow at times. DA2 is a bit more fast paced action I guess but it depends on what you like though I don't have a problem with either.
Well,one thing that's superior with DA2,is that you don't become as much an unstoppable force of destruction near the end than in DA:O.
Anyone who's played a bloodmage+arcane warrior spec mage knows that.
Plus,using a healer in DA:O was pratically cheating.With life and spirit healer maxed out,you could keep the entire party above 50% hp at all times
Although,you do have Bianca on your team in DA2,and her incredible attack speed,damage(especially if you put a damage rune) and constant barrage of crits makes her pretty damn efficient at plain old destroying everything.Make the tank engage the biggest threat,get mage to AOE spell everything in sight and Bianca mops up any survivor.The last person can just sit around and eat Cheetos or something,you don't need them.
Anyone who's played a bloodmage+arcane warrior spec mage knows that.
Plus,using a healer in DA:O was pratically cheating.With life and spirit healer maxed out,you could keep the entire party above 50% hp at all times
Although,you do have Bianca on your team in DA2,and her incredible attack speed,damage(especially if you put a damage rune) and constant barrage of crits makes her pretty damn efficient at plain old destroying everything.Make the tank engage the biggest threat,get mage to AOE spell everything in sight and Bianca mops up any survivor.The last person can just sit around and eat Cheetos or something,you don't need them.
This is the realization that everyone eventually has about Bioware sequels after they go back - other things may change in either direction, but the core gameplay is almost always better.
ME2 can seem underwhelming in terms of the complexity of the original, but when you go back to the original, you quickly come to understand that a lot of the simplification was good. The game is more streamlined and a lot of the complexity in the original just seems clunky by comparison.
Pretty much the same is true of DA2.
ME2 can seem underwhelming in terms of the complexity of the original, but when you go back to the original, you quickly come to understand that a lot of the simplification was good. The game is more streamlined and a lot of the complexity in the original just seems clunky by comparison.
Pretty much the same is true of DA2.
It wasn't the combat exactly that was the problem in DA2, it was the way the fights were structured. Every single fight was exactly the same, a big group of melees and archers, with perhaps the occasional rogue thrown in. No matter if it's darkspawn, templars, or even spiders (the spiders fit into basic warrior or archer classes). And then half way through another wave spawns on top of your mage. That completely ruins any chance of tactical gameplay, there's no point positioning your characters properly, pulling the enemy through AOE etc.
Playing DA:O on nightmare difficulty where you had to think through and plan each encounter before it started was brilliant. The problem is that if Bioware aren't making that kind of game anymore, who will?
Playing DA:O on nightmare difficulty where you had to think through and plan each encounter before it started was brilliant. The problem is that if Bioware aren't making that kind of game anymore, who will?
The thing that comes back time and again in this (and almost any other) argument is that 99% of the people participating in them apparently can't wrap their head around the fact that not everybody is like them, and not everybody prefers the same things. BioWare didn't improve the combat in DA2. Nor did they make it objectively worse. They just changed it. And for some people it works, and for others it obviously doesn't.
I honestly can't wrap my head around the fact that some people cannot understand why some might think the DA2 system is worse (for them) than the one in Origins. They pulled stuff out! Some people liked the isometric view. Some people liked being forced to micromanage on some difficulties. I understand that these things sucked on the console, so I can understand that those people like the changes. But for many (mainly) PC gamers, DA:O was basically the only RPG that even vaguely looked like the RPGs of yore. Making DA2 more like every other (console) game was extremely disappointing to them/us.
This understandably made some people lament the fact that BioWare has made these changes mostly to cater to the console audience. This is not that audience's fault of course. It's BioWare's (if you can even call it a fault). So I would like to say to everybody who likes the combat in DA2: "Be glad. Be happy. By all means talk about how great it is. But understand that many other people are not like you and justifiably feel disappointed, and maybe even a little bit screwed because sequels should preserve what is great about the original."
I honestly can't wrap my head around the fact that some people cannot understand why some might think the DA2 system is worse (for them) than the one in Origins. They pulled stuff out! Some people liked the isometric view. Some people liked being forced to micromanage on some difficulties. I understand that these things sucked on the console, so I can understand that those people like the changes. But for many (mainly) PC gamers, DA:O was basically the only RPG that even vaguely looked like the RPGs of yore. Making DA2 more like every other (console) game was extremely disappointing to them/us.
This understandably made some people lament the fact that BioWare has made these changes mostly to cater to the console audience. This is not that audience's fault of course. It's BioWare's (if you can even call it a fault). So I would like to say to everybody who likes the combat in DA2: "Be glad. Be happy. By all means talk about how great it is. But understand that many other people are not like you and justifiably feel disappointed, and maybe even a little bit screwed because sequels should preserve what is great about the original."
Alrighty, I'll adress the combat:Denomoses said:
What is missing: The zoomed out view. This is not extremely bad, but it can be quite frustrating in bigger fights. And lets face it, there are not a lot of small fights in DA2.
The "finishers". So far in DA2 I've seen two finishers, the first big ogre and a big dragon finish (not on my first dragon though). In DA:O there were several "finishers" playing out randomly (I loved them). DA2 features extreme gibbing which is over the top, inappropriate and stupid.
Other than that I dont see that the combat is much different. The animations are faster and a bit more varied here and there, but it doesnt really add to the experience imo.
There are activated "stances" and activated abilities, just like in DA:O. DA2 adds cross-class combos, which I guess are important on the higher difficulties (cant remember if a variety of those existed in DA:O, its been some time since I played it), but that does not really matter to someone that is in it for the story (like me).
Thus I conclude that the combat mechanics (viewed by themselves) have lost something (zoomed out view) and gained something (cross class combos).
But really, it feels silly to discuss that without taking the rest into consideration. Dragon Age: Origins and its sequel are not exactly games that are supposed to be played for its "action" alone. And in my opinion are not close to good enough to be played on that ground alone.
Solely on combat gameplay, I still prefer DA:O. While it was slower and less frantic, I much preferred the wider range of abilities, and felt that more of the abilities were useful than than they were in DA2.
I wasn't even near the end when I had maxed out dual weapons and assassin on my Hawke, and still really only had 4 skills I used in a fight. When I selected other skills, I found they were nigh-on useless and stopped using them all together. In the end I took a respec and just bought a load of passive abilities I didn't notice.
To me, this all contributed to DA2 feeling like mindless hacking, rather than anything I was involved in. In DA:O, I picked my character development carefully, and had to move into correct positions to get the most of my skills. DA2 is just hack, hack, hack.
I didn't like the massive potion cooldown time either, especially now that the Spirit Healer class requires turning a sustained skill on and off all the time.
Trying to duel the arishok was like a episode of Benny Hill for me- run, run, run, check potion cooldown, run, run, run etc.
I think the upgraded speed of DA2 and the superior abilities of DA:O would make the best system.
I wasn't even near the end when I had maxed out dual weapons and assassin on my Hawke, and still really only had 4 skills I used in a fight. When I selected other skills, I found they were nigh-on useless and stopped using them all together. In the end I took a respec and just bought a load of passive abilities I didn't notice.
To me, this all contributed to DA2 feeling like mindless hacking, rather than anything I was involved in. In DA:O, I picked my character development carefully, and had to move into correct positions to get the most of my skills. DA2 is just hack, hack, hack.
I didn't like the massive potion cooldown time either, especially now that the Spirit Healer class requires turning a sustained skill on and off all the time.
Trying to duel the arishok was like a episode of Benny Hill for me- run, run, run, check potion cooldown, run, run, run etc.
I think the upgraded speed of DA2 and the superior abilities of DA:O would make the best system.
I have one question. Please no spoilers.
I'm almost at the finale of DA2. The ending, do they do it like DA:O and awakening when they tell you what happened to Kirkwall and your companions after the game? I don't wanna hear how good or bad it is if they do it, I'll judge it myself. The only question is do they do it like in Da:O and awakening?
If it's just gonna be like Mass Effect where the ending is pretty much a "wink wink" wait for the sequel I will be seriously pissed off
I'm almost at the finale of DA2. The ending, do they do it like DA:O and awakening when they tell you what happened to Kirkwall and your companions after the game? I don't wanna hear how good or bad it is if they do it, I'll judge it myself. The only question is do they do it like in Da:O and awakening?
If it's just gonna be like Mass Effect where the ending is pretty much a "wink wink" wait for the sequel I will be seriously pissed off
What is wrong with the combat in Origins? I thought it was one of the best combats in any "hardcore" RPG. It was so good, that I now have a hard time playing Baldur's gate because of its cluncky combat.
As for the poll I'm currently playing DA2 and it's good, bur nowhere near as good as Origins
As for the poll I'm currently playing DA2 and it's good, bur nowhere near as good as Origins